cantgetin

You have a bit of a point. There is no such thing as a table for one, so a reservation for one can always become for 2. As to larger groups, we've found the restaurants to be very willing to meet our needs for a group pf 4 or 6. True that you wouldn't be likely to get seats for a party of 16 without advance notice. On the other hand, our FB group for the next cruise had put together several large groups and we have advance reservations. You also do not need to specify the other cruisers. You can make a reservation for 4 in just your name.

Your impression is the same as mine. The loot for referrals definitely ended 2/14. Now, if you link cabins with a referral, each cabin gets a bottle of bubbly, limited to one bottle per cabin. Again, that's my understanding from the web site. Also, if you read the fine print on other promotions, each cabin is limited to one bottle regardless of how many promotions they may qualify for that include a bottle. For instance (old example), we had JLo, Deep Blue, and something else, each of which qualified us for a bottle, but per the fine print, it was one bottle per cabin per cruise. This was clearly stated in the fine print.

Bottom line, the pizza is good. Not the best pizza I've ever had (that was in Florence, Italy about a block off the tourist track at a place where local workmen were lined up at the door!)....but quite good.

In the casino (and possibly some other bars), they serve half pours so you can get liquor that would be over the $25 limit still included.

We did convince them to allow us to get desert to go a couple of times....but they made a point of saying they weren't supposed to. On the other hand, taking food from The Galley "to go" is easy, regardless of which station it came from....and I don't know if they would prevent your friend from bringing it into The Wake.

My loot was wrong on the account on line but was magically correct when the app went live at boarding. I had screen shots and all sorts of documentation ready to argue and didn't need to.

Remember that there is no sense in getting to the port more than 30 minutes before your scheduled arrival time....so if your hotel has a noon check out, you'll need something to do for at least an hour.

I got off a 14 night cruise with a bill of $8. Yes, it helped that we had Deep Blue Extras and some Loot applied to our reservation. It was, by far, the cheapest bill I'd ever had on a cruise. Hoping that Deep Blue extends to our next cruise....but scheduled to end.

Maybe I wasn't clear in my response above.....we did walk ins at both The Wake and Razzle Dazzle, but one time were turned away at The Wake. RD was our favorite breakfast spot, and we have often had brunch there as a walk up. The Galley is always "walk in, sit down, etc." and we never had a problem with seats there for breakfast or lunch. The Wake was the only place we were ever turned away--that was brunch on a sea day, so no surprise that they were busy.

THe key to the above is when you are booking and when you are cruising. Currently, the free bar tab offer is good for all of 2023. Deep Blue Extras are good only on cruises thru March 31, 2023. You don't get a bonus on top of a free bar tab--the bonus only happens if you purchase more on top of the free one. Deep Blue Extras include $100 free bar tab (it used to be a bottle of champagne, but the bar tab is better). THe specific perks do not show up in the app or on your account on line. When you get to the terminal to check in, they'll give you a ribbon bracelet what marks you as deep blue and gives you the priority boarding, etc. Your account will be marked for it and you don't need to show the bracelet...we found them annoying and removed them. The only time they are needed on board is for the cocktail party, and we just carried ours.

We were turned away from brunch at The Wake once as they were full. They did offer us a reservation for the next day. In addition to the above places, The Social Club hsd hot dogs, wings, pretzels, and stuff in the afternoons. Each location has different hours--check the app.

Sorry....my cruise was 4 1/2 months ago.

VV does charge a $5 delivery fee for room service which is waived if you order anything that has a charge (alcohol, specialty tea, etc) or if you are staying in a suite. I'm not aware that they nickel and dime for anything. VERY few thngs have a charge and those that do are clearly listed.

There are many reports that the show and the food have changed and greatly improved.

We used to make a "just us" request on other lines, and most of the time we'd get it. But on some lines, like Princess, the tables were so close together that you were basically at a table for 8 (or at least 6) when there were 4 single tables in a row that literally had to be scooted so you could be seated at the inner seat. Sometimes the people at the next table were great, sometimes no....but still so close that you couldn't ignore them. VV is much better. Even at Test Kitchen or Razzle Dazzle, where some of the tables are in rows and you sometimes can't help overhearing conversations, the fact that you were seated at different times and there is more distance between the tables makes it far easier to engage or ignore the others as you choose. In fairness, we've had some good conversations with passengers on other lines when we chose to share tables at lunch or whatever....but the same people in the same place at the same time for mediocre food is not for me.

That was sort of my thought but I decided to not get into it. I'm somewhat conservative, old fashioned, or whatever you want to call it. I think that PDA does not belong in public. And truly, I didn't see anything more than holding hands or a peck on the cheek in public areas on the cruise. I don't care what you do in your own cabin or with whom you do it....but I don't want to see what I consider to be private things.

You can keep the same room by booking thru a TA or calling VV either before or after you. book. But you won't get a discount for it unless you rebook on board or use a TA who s in a special benefit period.

Only if you book the second one while on board for the first!

So funny...when I asked my agent about VV prior to my first cruise, he said it was a cruise line for people who didn't like to stand in line and be told what to do!

In fairness, that was October 2022....you'll see the porters first, but just beyond them was a VV desk with a uniformed agent.

I've been on a coiuple cruises on other lines where we booked late and had no choice about dinner seating. While you might not get your preferred restaurant for each night on VV, I can't see that it matters provided you aren't wanting "that one" for a birthday, anniversary, to propose, or something really special. What you will have is by far the best overall food at sea, and I'm not aware of anyone not being able to eat at one of the restaurants each night. True that some time flexibility may be needed. I'm willing to deal with the current VV system but wish it would be changed just a bit so that the app worked and that maybe the number of reservations released in advance related to the number of people booked for the cruise. I've seen people book the next cruise while they are on the ship (turning it into a B2B,) but I don't think too many people book after the 45 day point.

You can order it at most places. I don't remember which restaurant didn't have it, but there was one in October. No problem for me--I tend to carry my mug anywhere I'm not sure of. I think it was Razzle Dazzle that didn't have it, but not certain.

I think most of the concerns are being voiced by people who have never cruised on VV. I've had nothing but trouble with advanced reservations. The app just didn't work, perhaps because too many were using it at once. On my first cruise, I called shoreside customer service and they did my bookings, for my next cruise, I let my TA take care of it and just provided a list of what I wanted with approximate times. We have been able to change reservations after boarding with no problem. The only time we were turned away from a walk up was brunch at The Wake, and we showed up about noon--they kindly made us a reservation for the next day. We've changed reservations thru the app on the day of the current res and have also shown up early for reservations and were seated early. Bottom line, I like the system. I've learned not to stress over what "might" happen. As someone implied above, the red tables only manage to make dining reservations on embarkation day; otherwise use the app or go to the restaurant. I like the system. We won't go to Test Kitchen again, so we just don't reserve there. On some other lines, there is a pre-established rotation. Test Kitchen is NOT a communal experience, and there are seats other than the bar stools. Just ask. One of my party cannot physically sit at the bar stools...no problem. 29 nights, and I've never not had a reservation for one of the restaurants regardless of how full the ship was. And we've done lots of walk ups, particularly for brunch but occasionally for an earlier than planned dinner.

I brought embroidery scissors. People don't fight on VV.

Some reservations are held back and open up only when you are connected to the ship's wifi. We try to book something in advance, but know that we can move our choices after boarding or do walk ups....and we've done both successfully.